


Crazier Things

by the_sun_is_a_deadly_laser



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Black Hermione Granger, Character Redemption, Competition For Top Student, Dolores Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad, Emotional Baggage, F/M, Female Friendship, Granger to Hermione!, Guilt, Indian Harry Potter, Jealousy, Malfoy to Draco!, Not As Good As Zuko But Still, O.W.L.s | Ordinary Wizarding Levels, Pining Draco Malfoy, Quidditch, Regret, Studying, The punch, Years 3-7, Yule Ball (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:34:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26579929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_sun_is_a_deadly_laser/pseuds/the_sun_is_a_deadly_laser
Summary: It started in third year. It was just a little feeling. Draco ignored it the best he could and fought back against his friends when they brought up how he acted throughout the years.He didn't expect it to get this bad. How he felt, or the fact that He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named was back and was well on his way to taking over the wizarding world.
Relationships: Hermione Granger & Harry Potter & Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Lavender Brown & Hermione Granger & Parvati Patil
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	1. Make Sure You Kiss Your Knuckles Before You Punch Me In The Face

**Author's Note:**

> this is a repost of my work bc I feel like i need to redo it

Draco was not expecting the brute force against his nose or for the impact to throw him back against the stone pillar behind him. His head hit against it and he couldn't open his eyes for a moment. When he did, through watery eyes, he could blurrily see Granger, who had just punched him in the face. 

His nose was throbbing in pain and he tasted blood. His mouth was open as he stared at her, vaguely aware of Crabbe and Goyle looking at Granger, Potter, and Weasel before looking back at him in a panic for instructions. Merlin, could they ever do anything themselves?

He realized that he was on his knees and began pushing himself up. Crabbe and Goyle helped him up. He stood, looked at them, at her, Granger, who was glaring at him with a murderous gleam in her eyes and ran away her. Like a coward. 

Halfway across the bridge, they stumbled to a stop and Draco used one hand to steady himself against a wooden support beam and the other to feel the blood coming out of his nose. 

"I'm _bleeding!"_ he said, slightly in shock. His shock slowly turned to anger as, he'll be honest, his followers, didn't say anything, just panted beside him because they weren't built for running. "And you," he yelled, "did nothing!" 

"We- we're sorry, Malfoy-" 

"Useless!" he bellowed as he stormed away from them, his nose still burning. He started suctioning the blood off his face and clothes with his own wand. He didn't think that she broke his nose. He winced at his own touch and cursed as Crabbe and Goyle blundered along after him. 

"Malfoy-" 

"Shut it!" He whirled around and pointed his wand threateningly at them. He advanced slowly, savoring the fear in his subordinate's eyes. "If you _ever_ tell _anyone_ about this," he hissed lowly, "I will _break_ you."

He turned back around and stomped off down the bridge, fuming. He could hear Crabbe and Goyle stumble to follow him, but because they valued their cocks, they didn't say anything. At least they understood _something,_ even if it was just so they could curse the world with their pathetic offspring later in life. 

He threw open the doors to Hogwarts and shoved his way through a group of Ravenclaw and Slytherin fifth years. They exclaimed in anger and confusion, but Draco couldn't care less. He hadn't been this angry since his maid had brought him the wrong dinner. Most students on the way to the dungeon saw the look in his eyes and got out of his way, but if they were unlucky enough to not look who was coming their way, they were shoved aside violently. 

His nose was still dripping blood but he didn't care. He reached the entrance to his common room and almost shouted the password. The door opened slowly and he raged inside, stopping dead when he saw some seventh years on one of the couches, laughing and talking, petting Granger's pathetic excuse for a cat. Her cat was known for wandering around the castle and going where it pleased when it pleased. That included every single common room of every single house. It always went back to Granger at night, though. 

Grumbling, he went up the stairs to his room and flung the doors open. It was empty. As soon as someone was in behind him, he yelled, 

"How the hell does that beast even get in here?!" 

He turned and saw a confused and winded Goyle. "What?" he asked. 

"That cat," he spat as Crabbe pushed Goyle aside and sat down heavily on the trunk at the end of his bed. 

"Cat?"

 _"Yes,_ the-"

The ginger arsehole himself strutted through the open door, meowing and making a b-line to Draco and started rubbing against him. Draco stepped back and exclaimed in disgust.

"Uhg!" 

Crabbe got on his hands and knees and inspected the charm on its collar. "'Crookshanks,'" he read aloud, as if Draco cared, "'Gryffindor.'" He watched, wiping his bleeding nose, as the cat rubbed against Crabbe as Crabbe turned the charm over and read the other side. "'If found, return to Hermione Granger.'" 

Draco suddenly got an idea. Sneering, he walked over to the door and closed it. Goyle frowned. 

"What are you doing?" he asked dumbly. 

"We," Draco announced, "are keeping this _cat_ hostage."

"Why?" Crabbe and Goyle asked, almost in unison. 

He stared at them. "Are you two daft?" he demanded. "This is Granger's cat!" 

"So?" 

_"So,"_ he said, as if he were explaining a simple math equation to two four-year-olds, "Granger will start panicking. She'll regret ever punching me."

"This isn't your best plan," Crabbe lumbered out. 

Draco's anger flared again. "Shut it!" he yelled, his voice cracking. He froze and his glare was practically _begging_ them to say something about it so he could hex them. They looked down at the floor. 

"But dinner's in an hour," Crabbe murmured. Draco stared at him. 

"Of course we'll go to dinner, moron! We'll leave the cat in here!" 

"But what if it pees on our things?" 

"Then we'll clean it up." 

"But..." 

He glared at Goyle. "But _what?"_

Goyle pouted, sniffing. "I'm allergic to cats."

Draco was honestly lost for words. "You're _allergic?"_

Goyle nodded. Draco put his head in his hands. 

"Merlin," he said to himself before walking over to the door and opening it. "Fine. I'm going to the library. I'll see you at dinner." 

He left and went down the stairs quickly, eager to get away from his friends. As he was turning the corner into the common room, he glanced down and almost tripped. The cat was at his side, purring with its tail up. 

"Get away from me," he hissed, hitting it with the outside of his leg. He walked away and heard it meowing behind him. He ignored it and walked out of the door. 

"Aw, a cat!" exclaimed what was probably a first year. "What's his name?" she asked Draco. He glowered down at her but she wasn't phased. "What's his name?" she asked again. "Can I pet him?"

"Crookshanks," he growled. Reaching down, he picked up the cat and pushed it into the girl's arms. 

Speeding off, he really thought that he had gotten rid of the beast. But he heard a meow, turned around, saw that the cat was still following him, and yelled, "Leave me alone!" 

He got some weird looks. 

"Mate, it's just a cat," someone said. 

"Piss off!" Draco shot back, continuing to make his way to the library, trying to be as quick as possible to possibly lose the cat. He made it there and hid behind a shelf to watch the entrance to see if the cat followed him. He jumped and cursed when the thing rubbed against his leg. 

"Quiet!" Madam Pince snapped, appearing out of nowhere, making Draco jump again. He watched as she sculked off, glaring at him, with a hand over his heart. 

"Merlin," he huffed. Glaring down at the cat, who simply meowed, he started to walk through the shelves. 

Each time he stopped to pick up a book, the cat would purr loudly and paw at his leg. He was getting progressively more annoyed and was sure that his eye twitched at multiple points. His nose was still dripping blood occasionally, so he set his books down at an empty table and pointed his wand at himself. 

"Episkey!" he whispered, feeling the swelling in his nose reduce. He sighed, wondering why the hell he didn't do that earlier. He sat down and opened a book, intending to study. But the cat jumped up on the table and meowed, stepping over his book and getting up in his face. 

"Get out of my way," he hissed, "or it won't just be your face that's horribly deformed." 

The cat, predictably, didn't understand. He rubbed his tiny cheekbone against Draco's, which he wasn't expecting. He pushed the cat away from him and pointed his wand at it. The cat inspected it, sniffed it, and then started biting it, which, at that point, Draco ripped the wand out of Crookshank's mouth. He stood up and pointed at the cat.

"You are the most _infuriating thing-"_

"What are you doing?" 

Draco and Crookshanks looked at its source, finding Pansy Parkinson standing with a book in her hands and a fond expression on her face. Draco internally rolled his eyes. Great. Now she was here to annoy him. 

"Hello," he started, but Crookshanks cut him off with a hiss. They both looked down at him and saw that he was hissing at her. 

"I don't think your cat likes me very much," Pansy said cooly. 

"He's not my cat!" 

"SHHH!" 

Draco wanted to go and give Madam Pince a piece of his mind, but he took a breath and closed his eyes. 

"Whose cat is it?" Pansy asked, sitting down in the chair next to him. Fantastic. He sat down heavily, knowing there was no way for him to escape her right now.

"Granger's," he spat. "It won't leave me alone." 

Crookshanks hissed at Pansy again. Pansy shrunk back in her seat. He growled and looked ready to attack her. Pansy stood up, clearly uncomfortable and a little scared. 

"I'll see you later, Draco," she rambled out. He raised his eyebrows and looked at the cat. She kissed his cheek as she walked by and ran out of the library. Blushing, Draco wiped his cheek with his sleeve and found that Crookshanks was purring again and laying leisurely on the table. 

He squinted at it. "Um... thank you. Cat." 

Draco reached out and patted Crookshank's furry belly twice. He still didn't like him and thought he was a menace, but he had done Draco a solid. Carefully, glaring at the cat, Draco opened a book and began reading. 

\---

He woke up at an ungodly hour of the morning to something jumping up on his bed. He sat up quickly and grabbed his wand, only to find Crookshanks on his bed, looking up at him with wide yellow eyes and a vibrating body. He looked up and saw that the door was open. Looking around, he saw that everybody else in his dormitory was asleep. He looked down at the cat. 

"How did you get in here?" he demanded quietly, as if Crookshanks would answer him. 

Draco set his want back down on his nightstand. "Shouldn't you be with Granger?" he hissed. The cat only bumped his head into Draco's hand, asking to be pet. 

Pushing Crookshanks off of his bed, he threw his covers back over himself. "Go. Away." 

Crookshanks jumped back up and Draco used his legs to shove him back off. "I'm serious, cat. I will hex you." 

"Who're you talkin' to?" came Blaise's tired voice. 

"This _cat!"_ Draco shot back. "It got in!" 

"Crookshanks?" Blaise yawned. 

_"Yes!"_

"'M'kay..." 

He saw Blaise roll over, leaving Draco to deal with the cat situation himself. He pointed at the cat. "Do not come up here," he demanded. The cat licked his finger. He pulled away angrily and rolled over. The cat jumped up and laid down by Draco's feet. He sighed. 

"Fine," he grumbled. "But just this _once."_

He fell asleep.

When he woke up, it was because someone was pushing him. 

"Mmmmmwazza?"

"Mate, what are you doing?" came Blaise's voice.

Eyes still closed, he asked, "Doing what?" 

Blaise let out a little laughed. "Why are you spooning the cat, Malfoy?" 

Draco's eyes snapped open and he saw that he was indeed spooning Crookshanks, who was warm and purring comfortably. He shoved the cat away and he landed on his feet, meowing reproachfully up at him. 

"Bloody menace," he croaked out. 

"Sure," Blaise laughed. "Come on, breakfast." 

He got up, cursing the cat and its existence as it jumped back up on his bed and rolled around, getting cat hair on his comforter. As he pulled his robes over his head, Crookshanks was grooming himself. He fixed his hair haphazardly and pulled on his shoes. Blaise was waiting for him. He jumped up, closed the door behind them, and they walked out together. 

"So I wasn't dreaming when you woke me up because you were yelling at Crookshanks?" 

"I wasn't yelling," he defended himself. "I don't know how he got in."

Blaise glanced behind him and stopped walking. Draco stopped too. "We... we closed the door on him, right?" Blaise checked as Crookshanks pranced over to Draco. 

"Yes!" Draco yelped. "How does he open doors?" 

Blaise shrugged, at a loss. "Whatever. I'm starving." 

They walked to the Great Hall, talking and trying to figure out how Crookshanks got in and out when an annoyingly shrill voice said, 

"Crookshanks!" 

They turned around to see Granger picking up the cat and staring at them reproachfully. 

"What did you do to him?" she demanded. 

"Nothing!" Draco protested. 

"I know I punched you in the face, but this is low, Malfoy. Even for you." 

She was flanked by Potter and Weasley and he sneered at her. His sneer was cut short, however, was Blaise laughed,

"You punched him?" Draco glared at him and he turned his laugh into a cough. "Sorry." 

"He showed up in our room," Draco bit out. "He won't stop following us. Get better control of your goblin, Granger." 

He turned on his heel and heard Granger shout, "He's not a goblin! You are!" 

Not even bothering to give her a response, a weird feeling in his chest, he walked into the Great Hall. He heard Blaise say, 

"I woke up and he was spooning him." 

He turned and yelled, "BLAISE!" 

"It was precious," Blaise said quickly before jogging over to Draco. 

"I swear-" 

"Will your father hear about this?" Blaise teased. Draco was taken aback for a moment and Blaise took that opportunity and ran away, laughing. 

"BLAISE!" he bellowed, running after him. 

\---

"That evil little-" 

"Hermione," Ron groaned, "leave it. He's a prick." 

"Besides," Harry said beside her, "we freed Sirius last night," he whispered gleefully. "Let's celebrate. Just one normal day." 

Hermione took in a deep breath and let it out. "Okay," she nodded as Crookshanks started getting squirmy in her arms, "let's go." 

She dropped her cat, who landed and trotted into the Great Hall, which he never did, he didn't like being in the Great Hall when it was crowded. She frowned as Harry pulled her along. 

When they reached their table, she had officially lost sight of him. She tried to shake the feeling that something bad was happening, but she couldn't. Knowing it was just paranoia from last night, Hermione took a piece of toast and started eating. Harry and Ron were talking about Quidditch and next year. A throat cleared and the whole Hall went quiet. 

She turned her attention up to Professor Dumbledore, who was standing in front of the staff table. 

"Good morning," he said, the candlelight reflecting off of his half-moon glasses. "As I'm sure some of you have heard, Sirius Black escaped last night." 

The Great Hall broke out in murmurs. 

"But do not worry!" Dumbledore raised his hands and the noise died down. "He is on the run and the Dementors will be leaving Hogwarts, seeing as there is no need for them any longer. That is all. Please go about your schedules as normal. Thank you." 

He walked off and Hermione looked at Harry and Ron, who were struggling to contain their excitement. 

"Oh, this is brilliant!" Harry hissed. 

"Shhh," Hermione laughed. 

"Wait," Harry said. Both she and Ron frowned. 

"What?" Ron asked, worried. 

Harry pointed at Ron. "Because we left you behind," he said quietly, "Hermione and I went back in time..." 

"Harry," Hermione said in a warning tone. Harry waved her off, saying he knew. 

"And as soon as we came back through the doors as soon as the other us disappeared..." 

"Yes?" she asked. 

"You're not the same Ron we left," he said slowly. Hermione raised her eyebrows. He looked at her. "So, this isn't our Ron, and- is that time loop going to be going on forever?" 

Ron looked pale. "Mione," he said, "is that true? Am I not your Ron? Are you not my Harry and Hermione?" 

She leaned back with her mouth open. "Er..." She looked over Harry's shoulder and saw Crookshanks on the Slytherin table, nuzzling up against Malfoy, who looked disgusted and annoyed. "Why is he with him?" she demanded. 

Ron and Harry looked where she was looking, at her cat and the arsehole who was trying to shove him away. 

"Dunno," Ron shrugged. "But I think we have bigger questions-" 

"I don't know, okay?" she snapped. Ron put his hands up in surrender. 

"Okay, jeez." 

"Besides, I don't think it matters," she continued. "You might not be the Ron we left, but you're still the same person. Just a couple of hours difference. And it wasn't any time for you, so I don't think it matters!" 

"...And the time loop?" Harry asked. 

She looked at the table. "Yes," she eventually. "That'll go on forever." 

Harry looked at his eggs, trying to wrap his head around what she had just said. Ron was too, but he gave up after a couple of seconds and continued peeling an orange. Hermione took her eyes off of her boys and turned her attention back to her cat. 

She clenched her jaw and narrowed her eyes. If Malfoy didn't want him there, that meant that Crookshanks liked him. And if what Blaise said was true, and Malfoy was spooning him and Crookshanks was _letting_ him, well... Crookshanks didn't even let her do that.

He liked Malfoy more than her. 

A feeling of crushing doubt of her owner skills came at her quickly. Why didn't he like her? Why did he like Malfoy more? What did she do wrong? 

She realized that she had been staring at him for a couple of minutes when he made a rude face at her and she glared back at him. Harry touched her arm from across the table. 

"'Mi, you're making things float."

She came back into reality so hard that a pitcher of marmalade crash to the table and then fall to break on the floor. 

"Holy hell," she muttered, cleaning it up as she vaguely heard Malfoy laughing at her. 

"'Holy hell?'" Ron mimicked. "Is that a Muggle saying?" 

She glared at him. "Yes." 

He shook his head. "Weird." 

Hermione took an angry bite of toast. "Does Crookshanks like Malfoy more than me?" she asked her friends, who surely had no idea. 

"I don't know," Ron said. "He's... aloof." 

"How articulate of you, Ronald." 

Ron was about to shoot something back at her, but Harry cut in. "Hermione, he can't. He's just having fun annoying Malfoy." 

"But Blaise said that they-" 

"Blaise is a liar," Ron said through a full mouth. "Malfoy is a prick. Even your little devil knows that." 

"My devil?" Hermione laughed. "At least my pet isn't a full-grown man!" 

Harry laughed out loud as Ron choked on a bite of cereal. Harry thumped him on the back. 

"Come on," Ron whined, "you make it sound so much worse than it was." 

Harry grinned. "You've been sleeping with a man in your bed for years."

It was Hermione's turn to laugh as Ron's freckled face turned red and he tried to defend himself and Scabbers. "He was a good rat! He bit Goyle for us!"

"Yeah," Harry said wistfully. "But still creepy." 

"Oh, yeah," Ron agreed. "Pettigrew is mental." 

"Not as mental as you, who thought that it was normal for a garden rat to live for twelve years," Hermione giggled. 

"I mean," Harry said with the air of someone commenting on the weather, "I've been sleeping in the same room with the man who gave my parents away to Voldemort-" Hermione winced. "-for twelve years." 

The energy between them changed. 

"I'm sorry," Ron started. Harry waved him off. 

"It's okay, you didn't know. I just can't believe he got away." 

Hermione smiled at him. "We'll find him." 

Harry nodded, clearly not believing her. "Yeah." 

"Mail," Ron said, happy to change the subject. They watched the owls come down and drop things into the arms on students. An owl came and landed in front of them. Breathing heavily, it dropped a letter in front of Harry. 

Harry opened the letter as Hermione let the owl drink out of her glass and allowed it to peck at the food on her plate. Harry's face was ecstatic when she looked up. "What is it?" she asked. 

"It's Sirius," he whispered. Panic gripped her chest. 

"Why did he send a letter this early?" she hissed. "It's so dangerous-" 

"Hermione, he says he's safe!" Harry beamed. "He says to write back as soon as possible!" 

Hermione smiled because of how happy Harry was. He was talking to the first family member he liked. The Dursleys were horrible and Sirius seemed like a good man. She looked over Harry's shoulder once again and saw her cat sitting on a very angry Draco Malfoy's shoulder. She laughed and pointed. Ron, Harry, as well as Dean, Seamus, Lavender, Parvarti, and Neville, turned to look. 

"Oi, Malfoy!" Seamus yelled, "Nice pussy cat!" 

Even though the insult wasn't great, Malfoy was clearly fuming. He shoved Crookshanks off of his shoulder and stormed out of the Great Hall with Crookshanks following him. While her friends laughed around her, Hermione couldn't help but feel like she was losing her pet. That Crookshanks had moved on. 

She crossed her arms and sighed. 

\---

That night, when Hermione stepped out of the en suite, she found Crookshanks on her bed, playing with something. 

"Crookshanks!" she said happily, running over to him. He meowed happily up at her and continued playing with... a tie. A Slytherin tie. She pursed her lips. Someone knocked on the door. 

Lavender, who was closest, got up. 

"Hello?" she asked. 

The prefect, Billie, was outside the door. "Hermione?" she asked. 

Hermione stood up, terrified that she had done something wrong. "Yes?" she squeaked. 

Billie started grinning halfway through her sentence. "Draco Malfoy is outside of the common room, saying that your cat... uh, stole his tie." 

The four girls in the room looked at Crookshanks, who had just fallen off the bed while trying to take Malfoy's tie by surprise. 

"Well, I, uh, I'll take it to him," she sighed. She walked over and took the tie from Crookshanks, who thought that she was going to start playing with him. She gave him a disappointed look and turned to Billie. "I'm really sorry." 

"Nah, it's funny," she said before walking further up the stairs, to where the fifth year's rooms were. 

Hermione took a breath and walked out of the door, dreading having to talk to Malfoy. Crookshanks followed her, purring loudly. Everyone in the common room looked at the two of them because Malfoy definitely made such a big fuss out of this that everybody in Gryffindor and probably Slytherin knew about it. She pushed open the door and stepped out with her cat. 

Malfoy turned around from where he was leaning against the stone railing and glared at her. He came forward and snatched the tie out of her hands. 

"Keep your pathetic excuse of a cat away from me!" he snarled. Hermione crossed her arms and glowered at him. 

"Wow, how long did it take you to come up with that one?" she asked. "If you don't like him, don't let him into your room." 

He stared at him. "He opens doors by himself!" 

Hermione frowned. "No, he doesn't." 

Malfoy threw his hands up. "He does. Your 'cat' is a freak of nature, just like you." 

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm a Muggleborn. Try, for one second, to step above your ego and see that I'm a normal person. I'm like everybody else. If anything, you're the _freak_ because you think you're entitled to everything. Well, Malfoy, you're not. As soon as you get out of this school, you're going to fail. The only reason you think you're so high and mighty," she spat, "is because your daddy makes you feel like you are. You're not."

She turned around and walked back into the common room, shutting the door behind her. Hermione leaned back and let out the breath that she had been holding since she had heard that Malfoy was outside. 

"That felt good," she smiled to herself. Walking back up to her room with her cat following her happily, she felt lighter than she had in a long time. She'd been wanting to say that to him since first year. 

She closed the door of her dorm behind her happily. When she looked ahead, she was surprised to see Lavender and Parvati standing there, smiling. 

"What happened?" Parvati asked. 

"Yeah, did he tell you off?" Lavender followed up. 

Hermione took a step back. "What?" 

"Tell us!" they said together before turning and laughing at each other because they had accidentally spoken in unison. Once they were done, they looked back at Hermione with pleading eyes. 

"Please?" Lavender begged. 

"There hasn't been any drama," Parvati complained. "Please, Hermione?" 

Hermione swallowed. "Uh..." 

They made puppy eyes at her. It made her so uncomfortable that she gave in. 

"I told him off," she admitted. "I told him that he wasn't as entitled as he thought he was and I... I guess I called him an arse. I said that the only reason he thought he was special was because his father told him he was." 

All of a sudden, Lavender was hugging her. 

"Oh, finally!" she laughed when she pulled away. "Someone needed to tell him! I'm just happy it was you!" 

"Uh," Hermione said awkwardly, "why?" 

"Why? Because he hates you," Parvati said cheerfully. "He doesn't think you're worth anything." 

That stung. "How do you know?" 

"Oh, we hear things," Lavender chirped as she put her arm around Parvati. "But you are worth something! You're _really_ smart. He's just mad because you get better marks than him." 

Hermione found herself smiling. 

"You're worth ten of him," Parvati scoffed. "You're better than any entitled white boy." 

Hermione laughed then. "Thank you," she managed. 

Parvati took her arm. "See, and you have a really nice smile, too!" 

"You do, too," Hermione tried. Parvati smiled. 

"Thank you." 

"So, is it hard being friends with just boys?" Lavender asked. "Those two seem blind to emotions." 

"Merlin!" Hermione yelled. _"Yes!_ Once, Ron actually asked me if I was on my period." 

They both groaned. 

"Come on," Lavender said, taking her hands and leading her to Parvati's bed. They all sat down. "Tell us everything." 

So she did. They laughed so hard they cried. 

This was a nice feeling, she realized. She loved Harry and Ron, but being able to talk to Lavender and Parvati was like a breath of fresh air. 

\---

"I can't believe she _said_ that to me!" Draco yelled. Blaise smiled into his hand. "What's so funny?" he demanded. 

Blaise shrugged. "Well, why do you care?" 

That, Draco blanked on for a second. "Because everything she said was a lie!" he said after a moment. 

Blaise hummed. "Not really." 

Draco rounded on him. _"Excuse_ you?" 

"Come on, mate," Blaise sighed. "You do act entitled. I tell you that all the time. Why do you care what Granger says?" 

"Because- because you're-" Was friend the right word? He didn't know. "My point is that it's different!" 

"Really?" Blaise asked, raising an eyebrow. "How?" 

"Because she's, uh, from a different house!"

"Mhm." 

"What's so funny?!" 

"Nothing!" 

"If you know something I don't and you're not telling me-" 

Blaise laughed. "Nope. I know nothing at all." 

"No, you don't." 

The door opened and Crabbe stepped in. He closed the door and looked at the two of them. Draco was standing angrily in the middle of the room, mid-pace, and Blaise was smiling from his bed. 

"What's up?" he asked. 

Draco inhaled and went off on his tangent again, this time going on for longer about what she said and how wrong she was. Crabbe frowned as the door opened. The three of them looked and saw Crookshanks walk happily in, running over to Draco, who ran the other way, to the door, and looked around for someone who could've opened the door. There was no one there. 

Draco turned and stared at the cat in disbelief. "I can't believe this," he said in a shrill voice. "How can he get in here?" 

"Magic cat," Blaise deadpanned. 

"No," he said quickly. "No, how is this possible?" 

"It's not," Blaise said in the same tone. "Magic cat." 

"He's not a magic cat!" 

"He might be a magic cat," Crabbe said slowly. Blaise and Draco looked at him. He was serious and looked shaken. 

"He's not a magic cat!" Draco yelled. 

"He's a magic cat!" Blaise screamed. 

"He's not!" 

"He is, though!" 

"Shut up!" 

"You can't make me! It's a magic cat!" 

Draco was about to yell back, but he realized how dumb it all was and took a breath. "It's not a magic cat," he said seriously. "There's gotta be a logical explanation." 

"Yeah, like a cat. In the wizarding world. A wizard cat." 

Crabbe nodded from his bed, eating a pumpkin pasty. Draco shook his head as he put his tie and everything else that he owned out of Crookshank's reach. 

"Piss off," he said loudly as he got into his bed and closed his curtains around him. He cast Lumos and threw his wand down on his pillow. He reached out and grabbed a book from his nightstand. 

He opened it and continued reading about dementors and the Patronus charm. His father had told him that it came up on the O.W.L.s and he had to start preparing earlier. What was bothering Draco was that he wasn't sure if he had a happy enough memory to produce one. And the truth was that Granger was right. 

He pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes and sighed heavily. Something moved his curtains and he looked up, his vision spotty. Crookshanks jumped up and plopped down next to him, already purring loudly. 

Draco hesitated for a moment before petting him. Crookshanks licked him and he smiled. At least someone liked him. He continued reading and petting the ginger menace. 


	2. Don't Stop Me Now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy Larry day, everybody

Crookshanks would come by a couple of nights a week and a lot of weekdays. Draco did his best to ignore Granger, but she was _everywhere._

Every table he thought was free in the library, she was there. Each corner. Each task in class, she did just a bit better than him. It was infuriating. 

The time had come for exams and Draco had been studying for weeks. So had Granger; they'd glared at each other as they read copies of the same books in the library. Draco cursed under his breath whenever Granger would shut a book, just loud enough to mock him. When he finished first, he'd look over at her and grin at the fact that she would be fuming and reading faster. 

He glanced up during the Transfiguration and saw Granger with her left hand in a loose fist and biting the inside of her lip. That meant that she was struggling. 

Before McGonagall could catch him looking around, especially at the smartest witch in the class, he turned his attention back to is written essay and bit back a grin. Was he doing better than her? 

"Five minutes," McGonagall announced curtly.

Draco smirked as he began his conclusion. He heard a small whimper and looked up. Granger looked like she was about to cry. He frowned, he didn't know why, and kept an eye on her as McGonagall passed. All of a sudden, she jumped in her seat, making Draco jump, and furiously began writing. 

All emotions besides anger that he had been feeling quickly dissipated. She was still a little twat. 

He was just watching her because he liked watching her struggle. 

And after what she said to him a couple of weeks ago, she deserved it. But he hated to admit that it had got him thinking. Just the other day, he had said excuse me while trying to make his way through a group of students. 

He sighed, satisfied, as he dotted his last period and set down his quill. Something rubbed against his leg and he jumped. Looking down, he saw it was Crookshanks. His jaw dropped. His head snapped up to tell McGonagall that Granger's mangy cat had snuck in, but instead, he saw McGonagall nod respectfully at Crookshanks and continue her rounds through the rows of desks. 

Shaking his head in disbelief, Draco, confused as to how this cat had more respect than him, wrote his name down at the top of the parchment. 

"One minute."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Granger put down her quill, huff happily, and sit up straight, smiling. He rolled his eyes. Of course she would be _so_ pleased with herself for finishing an essay. Realizing he was clenching his teeth, he relaxed his jaw and looked ahead, at the stone wall. Movement caught his eye and he saw that Weasley was now facedown on his desk, groaning quietly.

Now _that_ was satisfying.

"Quills down!" 

Everyone walked out of the class griping about how 'hard' the exam was. Draco thought it was rather easy because he had been preparing in small segments for months. 

"I had a hard time with the essay," he heard Granger say. 

"Well, at least you got to the essay," Potter replied. He saw Granger frown. She opened her mouth and closed it as she saw the look on Weasley's face. 

"Oh," was what she said. "Well, Ron, at least-" 

"Please don't," he groaned. She pursed her lips. 

"Okay, well-" 

"Mione..." 

She huffed. "At least it's time for Division. You're good at that." 

Weasley threw his hands up in the air before Draco had to focus his eyes on the stairs in front of him. All of the third years were going to their Division exam, which was up in a stupidly high tower. He supposed that made sense because Division was a stupid subject. 

"We just make things up!" Weasley said loudly. Draco narrowed his eyes. 

"As long as there's plenty of death," Potter said, "she's happy." 

Draco thought about it. He had struggled with the subject since the beginning and he had been being tutored in it since second year. Could he really lie? And if he did and made it dramatic enough, would that actually raise his grade? He only had an E in the class, so... 

No. His father would be furious. 

"It works every time, too," Weasley sighed. "You should try it, Hermione. It could raise your grade." 

"My grade," she snapped back, "is _fine."_

 _Oh._ So she was struggling, too. He grinned. 

"You gotta go all out," Potter said. "Make it almost offensive. She eats it up." 

"No," Granger said firmly. "I'm not doing that." 

Well, maybe Draco was. Someone took his arm, ripping his attention from the idiots that were saying their strategy to the would school. It was Pansy. 

"How'd you do?" she asked. 

He pulled his arm out of her grasp. "Fine." 

She huffed and ran up a couple of stairs to catch up with him. "I couldn't remember the answer to the first question," she sighed. "What'd you put?" 

"The right answer." 

"Draco..." 

He gritted his teeth and had never been so happy for the sudden appearance of Professor Trelawney. 

"If you would've come up without me," she said loudly to no one in particular, "you all would have died a painful death from a giant rolling snowball!" 

Draco was so done. 

He followed the crowd silently, ignoring whatever it was she was saying now and took his seat. Crabbe and Goyle sat down next to him. But rested his head in his hand and zoned out as the bat who was supposed to be a professor go on and on about something. Probably death and destruction. He didn't really care. Finally, when she got to explaining the exam, he tuned in. 

Basically, they were to look into a crystal ball and write down what it was that they saw. 

Draco took out his quill and dipped it in ink. He stared into the ball, hoping that something, _anything,_ would show itself. When nothing did, he scoffed and shook his head. 

_1) Hogwarts is destroyed by a spaceship. There are many casualties._

Like that? He frowned and looked into the ball again. Still nothing. 

_2) A lion comes and kills Professor Dumbledore, taking his place as headmaster._

He laughed to himself, thinking, _Rumbleroar._

_3) I am killed by the Floopowder Network because I mispronounce the venue of my wedding._

Draco was just having fun with it, now. He looked back at the ball and was surprised to see some sort of smoke forming. Squinting, he leaned in closer. The smoke took shape. It looked like a... person. The head and shoulders of a woman. She was facing away from him. She had long, curly brown hair. 

She began to turn around, making Draco jerk away in some sort of fear. He came closer and saw her profile for just a moment. She had a thin, straight nose, dark skin, and beautiful eyes. The woman started turning toward him more. She looked familiar... 

Crabbe bumped the table, making Draco lose his concentration. When he looked back, the woman was gone. 

He wanted nothing more than to yell at Crabbe, but this was an exam. His hands shaking in fury, he wrote down the one thing he _did_ see on his paper. 

_4) A woman with curly long hair and dark skin._

He felt as though he could feel wrinkles forming between his eyebrows and raised them, trying to calm down. He continued spouting nonsense instead of thinking about whoever that was. 

_5) My father is killed in the Muggle world by a 'car.'_

_6) Professor Lockhart is in St. Mungo's permanently._

_7) Devil's Snare._

_8) A scary white man._

_9) A hippogriff._

"Your time," Trelawney declared with her hands up, "is over! Hand in your papers to me!" 

Bored, excited to get Defense Against the Dark Arts over with so he could go eat lunch, he shoved his paper into her hands. Someone ran into him. He turned around, ready to go off, and saw Granger looking back at him, clearly about to apologize. But upon seeing who he was, he supposed, she closed her mouth. He found himself saying, 

"Sorry." 

and turning around. He walked away, in complete shock by what he had just said. To _her._

 _Ugh._ What was _happening_ to him? 

He walked quickly down the stairs with a sick twisting deep in his stomach. His father would scold him if he knew that Draco had just apologized to a Mudblood. He would never, ever, _ever,_ admit to what just happened. He would deny it for the rest of his life.

As quickly as he could, he went to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom where Hagrid was. He frowned as people started came in behind him.

"Good mornin'!" Hagrid said. 

"Oh, hello, Hagrid!" Potter said cheerfully. Of course he and his friends would be thrilled about this. 

"Where's Lupin?" Draco demanded. 

"Well, er, Professor Lupin isn't... feelin' the best. I'll be watchin' over yer exams." 

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Are you even qualified to do this?" 

Hagrid smiled. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy. Now!" He clapped his huge hands. "We'll be startin' with a Boggart. Alphabetical order!" 

Draco's blood ran cold. No. No, no, no. He couldn't do this. He couldn't- people couldn't see what his Boggart was. 

"Hannah Abbott!" 

Abbott stood up shakily. 

"I trust Professor Lupin taught ye the charm?" 

She and the rest of the class nodded. Draco's palms were sweating. 

"Alright! Let's get this started!" 

And thus began the exam. Abbott's Boggart was a giant centipede. That made Draco cringe in discomfort. Hannah said the spell in a scared voice, turning it into a big teddy bear. The class let out a shaky laugh and the next student stepped up. 

Draco's breath was becoming more and more rapid as he came closer and closer to the front of the line. Granger was up. 

Confidently, she stepped forward and held out her wand. Draco watched as the Boggart shifted and revealed... Professor McGonagall. 

"Hermione Granger," the Boggart said angrily, "I can't believe you." 

The wand went slack in Granger's hand. 

"You were so promising," Boggart McGonagall sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I cannot, _really,_ I cannot understand how you failed everything! You believe that you're so smart, and yet, you-"

"R-riddikulus!" 

The Boggart shifted into something, Draco wasn't watching. Instead, he watched Granger fall to the floor, sobbing. Patil and Brown ran to her, followed by Potter and Weasley. Frowning, he wondered why on earth he felt bad for her. Normally, he'd be laughing. Whose Boggart was someone telling them they failed all their classes? It was stupid. 

But it made sense. Maybe Draco's Boggart wasn't what he thought it was. Maybe it was the news that he failed. Not... 

Hagrid allowed Granger and her friends to take her out of class to calm down. His hands were tingling and his fingers were twitching. He felt tense and scared. The line was now three people shorter since Brown had already gone. 

It scared him when he finally zoned back in and saw that there was only one other person in front of him and they were almost done. The door opened behind him and he saw Granger and her friends come back into the room. The person in front of him moved out of the way, revealing a dunce hat on the floor. Draco was terrified, knowing exacting what was going to appear, as the Boggart shifted.

And there, in front of the whole class, was Lucius Malfoy, standing tall in a dramatic black robe, glaring down at Draco. 

"I know what's going on," he growled. Draco felt faint. "You're going soft. You are a _Malfoy_ and you will _act as such!"_

He couldn't speak. His 'father' sneered.

"Look at you," he spat. "You're a disgrace to the family name. Apologizing, doubting _everything_ that I taught you! You would be _nothing_ without me! Nothing!"

He hated the tears that were burning his eyes. 

"You apologized to a _Mudblood!_ They are the scum of the wizarding world and you're becoming just like them! Look at you," the Boggart scoffed, motioning to Draco, who had tears rolling down his face, "you're _weak._ You're _pathetic._ You're-"

Someone stepped in front of him and the Boggart changed into- into what Draco saw in the woods with Potter in his first year- and a loud, deep voice bellowed, "Riddikulous!" 

The Boggart changed into some sort of worm, big and scary, which Hagrid thought was funny, he supposed. Furiously, as Hagrid turned to him, he wiped his tears. Hagrid's hand went to his shoulder, making his knees buckle and he had to catch himself before he hit the ground. 

"Malfoy-" 

"Get your _filthy_ hand off me, you disgusting half-breed!" he yelled loudly, shoving Hagrid's hand off of him. He ran out of the room, embarrassed and hurt. He didn't stop until he reached his room, where he collapsed into his bed and sobbed brokenly, once, into his pillow. 

That's all he let himself do. Gritting his teeth, he squeezed his eyes shut and willed himself to calm down. Once he had his breathing somewhat under control, he looked up at the dark stone wall behind his headboard. Guilt came crashing down onto him as he thought about what he said to Hagrid. 

What was wrong with him? 

He felt horrible. 

"Malfoy?" came Blaise's voice. 

He tensed up. 

"What?" he spat. 

"Are you okay?" 

Snarling, he said, "Yes, I'm _fine."_

Blaise frowned at him. "I was just checking in." 

There was something that Draco wanted to say but it left a bitter taste in his mouth. He felt like he had to say it, though. At war with himself, his mind against his heart, the ideals he was raised with and what he was feeling now, he spat out, "Thank you." 

He saw Blaise's eyebrows raise. "What was that?" 

"You heard me. I won't say it again." 

Blaise grinned. "Well, you're welcome, Draco." 

Draco glared at him, sure his face was still red from crying. Blaise picked something up and held it out to him. 

"Lunch," was his explanation. 

"...Thanks." 

He took it and ate it alone after Blaise left. Sighing, he knew what he had to do. He threw away the napkin that Blaise had wrapped the sandwich in and started making his way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts room, where he knew that Hagrid would be. Lunch, or fifth hour for seventh years, ended and Draco waited as the students walked out. Once the walkway was clear, he stepped in. 

Hagrid, who was picking up a pink umbrella, stopped when he saw him. 

Draco didn't dare get closer. He didn't need to see anything or say anything more than he needed to. "I'm sorry," he gritted out. "For what I said. I'm sorry." 

"Oh." He sounded surprised. "Thank ye, Malfoy. Means a lot." 

Nodding curtly, Draco turned on his heel and walked out, feeling more at war with himself than before. 

\---

"Malfoy apologized to _me,_ after I bumped into _him,"_ Hermione said for what was probably the fifteenth time as she was trying to pull back her hair in the en suite.

"Yeah," Parvati sighed. "Weird." 

"But _why?"_

"We don't know, Mione," Lavender giggled. "Maybe what you said to him got through that thick skull of his." 

Hermione humoured the idea for a moment. "No," she decided. 

"I mean, you saw what his Boggart was," Lavender shrugged. "And what it said." 

Hermione was about to shoot back that it was probably fake, but a Boggart is your worst fear. "Yes, but it was his father saying that he was a failure," she said. "That's just his fear of failure, right?" 

"Sure?" 

"But," Parvati said as Hermione walked out of the en suite, "it brought up how he apologized to you." 

She frowned. "That doesn't mean that it was _me._ It could've been anyone." 

"Mi, in what world is Malfoy around Muggleborns other than here?" Parvati asked. "And who else does he come across other than you?" 

Pursing her lips, Hermione crossed her arms after she sat down on her bed. "I don't know..." 

There was a knock on the door and it opened without anyone opening it from the inside. In walked Professor McGonagall. Hermione stood up. 

"I heard about the Boggart," she said. Hermione cringed. 

"Yes, I'm sorry, and-" 

"Miss. Granger," Professor McGonagall said kindly, "I have reviewed all of your marks from all of your exams." 

Hermione may have whimpered. 

"And I'm pleased to say that you received very high marks, even in Divination. Continue like that and you may very well become a prefect." 

Hermione fell back on her bed as Lavender and Parvati squealed. 

"Really?" she asked faintly. 

"Absolutely. Miss. Granger, never doubt your intelligence. I know you'll always come through." 

With one last smile, she left. As soon as the door was closed, Lavender and Parvati were hugging her. In a thrilled shock, she hugged them back. 

"You did it!"

"You _did_ it! Hermione!"

"I did it," she breathed. A smile broke out over her face. "I _did_ it!"

"Was there ever a doubt?" 

"Yes!" 

"You're like," Lavender laughed, "the smartest witch of our age or something." 

"Well," Hermione said, now knowing how to interact with girls her own age, "you two are definitely the prettiest." 

"Aw," Parvati giggled. 

"Oh, we know," Lavender laughed, tossing her hair dramatically over her shoulder. The three of them laughed until Parvati sighed. 

"I can't believe that the year ends in a week," she pouted. That brought a damper on their happy mood. 

"Well," Lavender said, "I think that next year is going to be fun." 

"Oh, really?" Hermione asked. Lavender smiled at her. 

"Yes. I saw a tall, dark, handsome man in your future." 

She rolled her eyes, blushing. "Sure." 

"I'm not lying!" Lavender said loudly. "I saw it during the Divination exam today!" 

"Well, I saw a ship and a dragon," Parvati said, shrugging as she took a sip of her tea. "An elegant ball, too." 

Hermione laughed. "Whatever you say." 

\---

"I'll miss you guys," she sighed, hugging her roommates goodbye. 

"We'll miss you, too," Lavender cooed. 

"Next year, though," Parvati smiled. 

"Yes. Next year. Bye!" 

"Bye!" 

"Byyyye!" 

She walked back over to Ron and Harry. 

"I can't believe you guys are friends," Ron said, looking at Lavender and Parvati as they pranced away, arm in arm. 

"They're fun," she smiled. 

"I'm sure," Harry groaned. "Now I have to go back to the Dursleys." 

The three of them looked and saw the Dursleys standing on the platform, looking around in distaste at all the witches and wizards. Harry's uncle caught Harry's eye, snapped his fingers, and pointed down at the floor in front of him, silently commanding Harry to come to him. Harry sighed and turned around.

"I'll write you," he said wearily. "See you next year?" 

Hermione hugged him tightly. "Next year." 

Ron's arms encircled the two of them. "I'll convince Mum to get you two over to my house. The Quidditch Cup is this summer!" 

Shaking her head, Hermione laughed. "I'll be there." 

Harry pulled out of the hug and smiled at them. "I'll see you over the summer, then." 

"Looking forward to it," she giggled. Harry hugged them both quickly and walked away, waving.

"Bye, Harry!" 

"Bye!" 

He shot them a last smile before walking with the Dursleys through the crowd. 

"Hermione?" came a voice. She turned around and saw her parents standing there, smiling. She threw herself into her mother's arms. 

"Mum!" she cried. She pulled away and hugged her father. "Oh, I missed you!" 

"We missed you, too, darling!" her mother sobbed. 

"How was it?" asked her father. "Your exams?" 

"Top marks," she said shakily, wiping her tears. She really missed her parents. Her father beamed at her. 

"I'm so proud of you." 

"Thanks, Dad..." 

There was a tap on her shoulder and she turned to see Mrs. Weasley smiling at her before pulling her into a tight hug. 

"How are you, dear?" she asked. "I take it exams went well? And Sirus Black escaped," she winked at her, "meaning that the Dementors are gone! Oh, I'm so proud of you!" 

So Ron had told her. She looked at him over his mother's shoulder and he shrugged. She laughed. 

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley." 

She pulled away and planted two kisses on Hermione's cheeks. 

"Oh, you must be Hermione's parents!" 

Mrs. Weasley was about to shake their hands but Mr. Weasley stepped in front of her and started bombarding her parents with questions about the Muggle world and their profession as dentists. 

"Oh, here he goes," Ron groaned, rubbing his face. 

"I think it's cute," she smiled as the rest of the Weasley children started coming to their parents after saying goodbye to their friends. She looked around for Crookshanks but didn't see him. 

"Yeah, because you don't have to listen to him talk about it the entire way home," Ron deadpanned. 

Laughing, she looked to her left and found her cat. Her smile dropped as she saw that Draco Malfoy was crouched down, petting him goodbye. He stood up and caught her eye. They held eye contact for what felt like forever when it was really just a couple of seconds. Malfoy did something that caused her to frown: he nodded at her just before he turned a corner and disappeared out of sight. Crookshanks followed him for a second before making his way back to Hermione.

"Something wrong?" Ron asked. 

Hermione shook herself out of her thoughts and leaned down to pet her cat. "No, sorry."

"Ron!" Mr. Weasley laughed. "The Muggle mail service! Go on, explain it again!" 

Ron was pulled into a conversation that he clearly didn't want to be in. Hermione watched him fondly as he tried to act interested. 

She would admit that she used to have a crush on him up until a couple of months ago. But the feelings fizzled out until there was nothing but platonic love left. She loved him, just not how she used to. Sometimes, though, he would do or say something, and she would think, _That's a face I could love._

But those were fleeting moments that were getting far and further in between. He shot her a look that made her laugh. 

"Well, erm, we want to take Hermione home," her mother said. "Could we continue this conversation later?" 

"Oh, yes!" Mr. Weasley laughed, ever the optimist. "We were thinking about taking Hermione to the Quidditch World Cup this summer. Shall we continue then?" 

Her parents fumbled for words and looked at her. She nodded. 

"Um, yes," her mother said. "We'd love to. When is this... world cup?" 

"25th of August," Mr. Weasley said. "But we'd like to have her over on the 15th so we can prepare."

"Pre... pare?" 

"Bulgaria vs Ireland!" Mr. Weasly laughed. 

"We have to enjoy the festivities, of course!" Mrs. Weasley said. "I'm afraid Muggles aren't welcome, but... do you think Hermione could come with us?" 

"Uh..." 

Her parents looked at each other and then Hermione, who was smiling widely in excitement. She nodded furiously, Ron laughing beside her. 

"Why not?" her mother eventually said.

"Oh, thank you!" Hermione yelled, hugging her mother.

"Wicked!" Ron said loudly. She hugged him and laughed as he spun her around. 

There it was, that feeling and that thought, but... no. That feeling was just a reminder of how much she loved him. Only platonically, though. And she was okay with that. 

"Oh, brilliant," Mr. Weasley said. 

"Dad, I want to go home," Ginny said. Mrs. Weasley shushed her and gently smoothed her hair. 

"We'll be in touch," she promised as Ginny leaned into her side. "We'll see you in August, Hermione," she said kindly before kissing the top of her head. "Come on, you lot!" she yelled to her children.

Ron hugged her goodbye for the last time for the next almost three months. They waved at each other and parted ways. 

"Do you like Ron?" her mother teased as they walked out of the doors of King's Cross Station. 

"I used to," she admitted. "Not anymore." 

"What about that blond boy?" her father asked. She frowned. 

"What?" 

"The boy who nodded goodbye to you," he laughed. "What's his name?" 

_"Malfoy?"_ she exclaimed in disgust. "No. He's a racist against Muggleborns. Against _me."_

Her father blinked. "Oh. I'm sorry, dear, it's-" 

"It's okay," she promised. "He..." _He's changed. Just a bit._ "He's not nice," is what she said instead.

"Well, that's a shame," her mother sighed. "He was cute."

Fighting the urge to blush, Hermione looked down at the concrete, seeing Crookshanks walk happily behind her. 

"Here we are." 

Her father opened the door for her, closed it behind her after Crookshanks jumped in, and stuffed her trunk into the boot. She pet Crookshanks gently. 

"Why do you like him so much?" she whispered to him. He meowed in response, which was to be expected. She kissed his head and looked out the window, watching the parked cars pass by as they drove away. 

"We're thinking about a holiday in Paris," her father said conversationally. Hermione perked up. 

"Really?" 

"Yep!" 

"Yes! When are we leaving?" 

Her mother laughed. "A month and a half. You'll have a couple of days before you go and stay with the Weasleys." 

She smiled. "Oh, fantastic!" 

"And... we have other news," her mother said nervously. "We, uh, I'm pregnant." 

Hermione's jaw dropped. Her parents were fairly young when they had her and her mother was in her early thirties. Her father was in his mid-thirties.

"It's a girl," her father said. 

She was still processing. 

"Hermione...?" 

Her face broke out into a smile. "That's amazing! I'm so happy for you guys!" 

Her parents laughed. "But are _you_ happy?" 

"Yes!" she said, fully meaning it. "I'm going to be a sister!" 

\---

"Why were you petting that ugly beast?" his father asked. Draco clenched his jaw. 

"It's a cat that wanders around Hogwarts," he said. "His name is Crookshanks." 

His father shook his head. "That place has gone to the dogs. We might transfer you to Durmstrang." 

Draco's blood ran cold. 

"Hogwarts is barely respectable," his father continued. 

"I'd like to stay," he said quietly. His father looked at him. 

"Excuse me?" 

"I'd like to stay," he repeated. "I like it there." 

His father sneered. "You're going soft." 

Draco couldn't breathe. 

"I'll speak to your mother." 

He walked out of Draco's room. Draco fell to his bed, breathing heavily. He put his face in his hands. 

"Please don't take me away," he whispered to no one in particular. 


End file.
